Barstow examines two adulteress affairs in this novel, first issued in 1968. One affair involves a single man with a married woman; the other a single woman with a married man. In the first, many years after Tom Simpkins and Norma Moffat have been secretly meeting and loving one another, Norma's husband dies. Tom wants to marry her, but her children (one of whom, Shirley, has been fathered by Tom) learn of this affair and rebel, especially Shirley. After much agony and tremendous effort (and love) on Tom's part, things begin to mend; Tom and Norma marry and all looks well. The alternate, though intertwining, story concerns Andrea and her love for a married local teacher, Philip Hart. They also grow to love each other immensely, but Philip's wife learns of their relationship with the result being misery for all involved. Barstow could have easily had these characters run to the divorce courts and that would've been that, but he explores their relationships carefully and with all seriousness. He believes that one can love more than one person, though differently, and want to keep doing so. Barstow is an excellent writer, and all the pieces of this novel jell perfectly by book's end. Highly recommended.